In the places where automation is not happening, manual labor is still cheaper. The more these people strike though, the sooner they will get replaced by robots.
So since the 80s it is known that water enters the nuclear waste storage locations and how many people have died? None. Okay but how many people have faced any direct adverse consequences from it? Also none. And that isn't even a proper counter argument because the waste was not handled correctly in this instance.
The reason why Apple still uses the Lightning port is because of regulation in the form of patents which give them a 20-year-monopoly on their plug design. Without the previous regulation there would be no need for this new regulation.
Used to be that people had to find innovative ways to adopt their business models to new technology. But not authors. They can just say "show me how I would earn money" and that justifies IP rights. It is your job as an entrepreneur to find a working business model.
To answer the question: Because just spreading information does not violate anyone's rights.
I cannot imagine a realistic scenario in which I would need two HDMI ports on the laptop. When I need to connect more than one screen (home, work) I would always use a docking station.
As I understand it, the big selling point for the 4 modular ports is that it allows future motherboards to fit the older chassis. The drawback is that you only have four ports to customize.
What they could have easily done instead is to use the same port layout for as long as possible. Let's say Ethernet, 2x USB-A, HDMI, 3.5mm jack, and as many USB-C ports as they can reasonably fit. That would be good enough for at least 3 years and probably way longer. In my opinion 3-5+ years backwards compatibility is good enough. Of course this is only me saying this from my armchair.
I would buy a Thinkpad over the Framework laptop in a heartbeat. Better keyboard (actual arrow keys!), track point, better hinges, matte screen, more ports, better warranty options. The only real negative is that Lenovo chose to solder the RAM in newer models.
Being able to reuse the chassis is good idea but the implementation is lacking.